487 BC

487 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sicinius and Aquillius (or, less frequently, year 267 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 487 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC
Decades:	500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC
Years:	490 BC 489 BC 488 BC 487 BC 486 BC 485 BC 484 BC

487 BC in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	487 BC CDLXXXVII BC
Ab urbe condita	267
Ancient Egypt era	XXVII dynasty, 39
- Pharaoh	Darius I of Persia, 35
Ancient Greek era	73rd Olympiad, year 2
Assyrian calendar	4264
Balinese saka calendar	N/A
Bengali calendar	−1079
Berber calendar	464
Buddhist calendar	58
Burmese calendar	−1124
Byzantine calendar	5022–5023
Chinese calendar	癸丑年 (Water Ox) 2211 or 2004     — to — 甲寅年 (Wood Tiger) 2212 or 2005
Coptic calendar	−770 – −769
Discordian calendar	680
Ethiopian calendar	−494 – −493
Hebrew calendar	3274–3275
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−430 – −429
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2614–2615
Holocene calendar	9514
Iranian calendar	1108 BP – 1107 BP
Islamic calendar	1142 BH – 1141 BH
Javanese calendar	N/A
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	1847
Minguo calendar	2398 before ROC 民前2398年
Nanakshahi calendar	−1954
Thai solar calendar	56–57
Tibetan calendar	阴水牛年 (female Water-Ox) −360 or −741 or −1513     — to — 阳木虎年 (male Wood-Tiger) −359 or −740 or −1512

Events

By place

Greece

• The island of Aegina and the city of Athens go to war. The island has earned the enmity of Athens by earlier submitting to the Persians. The Spartan King, Leotychidas, tries unsuccessfully to arrange a truce in the war.
• The Athenian Archonship becomes elective by lot from all the citizens, an important milestone in the move towards radical Athenian democracy. There are nine archons and a secretary. Three of the archons have special functions: the basileus, or sovereign; the polemarch (originally a military commander); and the archon eponymous (chief magistrate), who gave his name to the year.
• First known use of ostracism, an instrument created in 508 by Cleisthenes which enabled the electorate to banish for ten years any citizen deemed to be a threat to democracy. It was intended, therefore, as a safeguard against tyranny. An ostracism could be held annually providing a quorum of 6,000 was achieved but, apparently, the Assembly declined to invoke it until 487 when there was a popular reaction against Hipparchos the Pisistradid who had been the peace party archon in 496. He was the first of several citizens to be ostracised through the fifth century.

Rome

• Wars are fought between Rome and each of the Volsci and the Hernici. Rome prevails in both disputes.

Kush

• Siaspiqa becomes ruler of the Kushite kingdom of Meroe, likely succeeding Amaniastabarqa.

Births

• Gorgias, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 376 BC)

Sources

• Bury, J. B.; Meiggs, Russell (1975) [first published 1900]. A History of Greece (Fourth Edition). London: MacMillan Press. ISBN 0-333-15492-4.